Tag: nails

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Neon Drag Marble

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope you’re having a lovely start to your week.

Today I’m showing off a fun drag marble design I wore recently. I haven’t really done a drag marble in a while, & I thought one featuring a few neon-ish shades would be beautiful.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Floresc-pink
  • Sally Hansen MG Electri-Lime
  • Sally Hansen MG Violet Voltage
  • Sally Hansen MG Sugar Fix
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I’m kind of obsessed with how these turned out! They remind me a bit of jawbreakers, which marble nails can do. I like the neon colours popping against the white base. They turned out exactly how I imagined in my head & I’m so happy about it!

Drag marble nails are one of those looks which I always think are going to be so easy, but then surprise me with difficulty, haha. In this case, I had to swirl my four polishes in the while before things started to dry… & I had to work fast! But, you know, I think in the end it gave a really cool effect, & I got lots of compliments on the finished look which always makes my day.

If I had to pick a favourite nail? Probably my middle nail. I think my swirling turned out best on that nail for sure.

What do you think about this drag marble look? Are you a fan of the neons against the white base?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & what colour combination you would do for a drag marble look!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — New Essie Hard to Resist Nail Strengtheners

PR SAMPLE/GIFTED

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Can you believe this is the last week of April? Didn’t this month just start?

Today’s Swatch Sunday post is going to be a little bit different! I was recently sent the most amazing PR package featuring the new Essie Hard to Resist Nail Strengtheners.

According to the Essie Website:

born from breakthrough and brand new nail bonding technology, hard to resist is here to help bond weakened nail surfaces to improve fragile, brittle nails.

Both base coats are vegan, formulated without formaldehyde & are supposed to help your nails feel less brittle in three days.

I thought for this week’s Swatch Sunday, it would be fun to do a post showing off a before & after of how these tinted base coats work, featuring something I don’t show off very often: my naked nails.

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — New Essie Hard to Resist Nail Strengtheners”
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Purple Floral for @brydiedoesnails Birthday Collab!

Hello beauties & happy Tuesday. A very Monday-esque Tuesday, but I feel like that’s always the way after a holiday.

It’s feeling very Spring-like today, even though we have a big rainstorm heading our way. But while the sun is out, I thought I would share you a lovely design I did as part of a birthday collab for @brydiedoesnails birthday today!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI After Alter
  • Essie PlayDate
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • OPI Good Grief
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I decided I wanted to recreate this beautiful floral by Brydie, & it was not an easy decision to make! She has so, so many beautiful designs–especially floral!–that I must have saved quite a few trying to decide. Bit this soft purple just worked so well with the semi-sheer base. The over all look turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, & I’m very, very happy with them.

Here is a look at all the beautiful designs done in honour of @brydiedoesnails! You can check out all the looks by clicking on the hashtag #brydiesbirthdaycollab on Instagram.

These are the girls that all participated in the collab!

@pbnjnails
@phoebesummernails
@emilygilmour.nails
@polished_yogi
@naomisnailart
@polishedbypeyt
@lecame.shesaw.shepainted
@matteabout nails
@_jazzy_nails.
@ghthenailartist
@neeles_nails

Have a lovely day darlings!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Lilac Vibes (Neon Pastels)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy Easter. I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday (if you celebrate). Today I’m celebrating another week, & another Swatch Sunday post!

This week, I pulled out this Essence beauty: Lilac Vibes. I found this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer, & I have been meaning to share it ever since! But I thought since Spring is in full swing, it would be a great colour pick for this week’s Swatch Sunday post.

2 coats, no top coat

The formula on this shade is super creamy, & easy to apply. I possibly could have gotten away with one coat, but I applied a second to hide a few patchy spots on the nail. It dries to a beautiful shine, as pictured, without any top coat needed — although if I’m wearing long term, I always had top coat to help my polish last.

The colour is really pretty, & vibrant. It’s not quite pink, not quite purple. But the soft shade is enough you could get away with it for a variety of occasions. It also reminds me a bit of one of my favourite ORLY shades: Scenic Route — although Violet Vibes seems to lean a bit more on the blue side.

As mentioned, I picked this shade up at my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer. It wasn’t part of the core Essence display, but one of those little separate displays for limited edition shades. Like all Essence polishes sold at Shoppers, it was $2.99 CAD, which is a very good price.

It’s no longer listed as available on the Shoppers Drug Mart beauty site, but I did find the shade also listed on the Essence website as available so I’m not 100% sure if it is a core shade or not, but it does look like it is still available for purchase — although I do believe that is the US site, so shipping would not be available for Canada.

What do you think about this Essence shade? Are you a fan of Essence nail polish? Let me know what you think about this fun shade down in the comments below, & what your favourite Essence shade is!

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Spring Inspired Saran Wrap Splatter

Hello loves & happy almost Easter weekend! It’s been a beautiful week here on the East Coast — very Spring-y! I even had a chance to break out my flip flops. So I’ve been feeling all the Spring colours.

Todays look is a nail art technique I haven’t done in a while — Saran Wrap splatter. This is a technique I’ve done a lot in the past, but it’s been a hot minute since the last time, so I was excited to pull it out of my repertoire.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Racing Rose
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie Butler Please
  • Essie Play Date
  • Icing Matte Nail Polish Neon Blue
  • Crinkled plastic

How fun are these colours together? I feel like these pinks & purples & blues just go so well together. I’ve been doing this technique a very long time, & it never gets old to me. It’s a way easier option than your traditional spatter, & way less clean up. I usually only have a few places I need to clean up with acetone, versus a traditional spatter that makes quite a mess,

What do you think of this Saran Wrap Splatter look? Have you ever tried this technique before? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!